Sticky Buns (easy!)

I pulled these sticky buns together in less than 15 minutes one Sunday morning. Yes, really! After a quick 25 minutes in the oven, they were ready. Ooey, gooey and exactly what I wanted in my belly with a cup of coffee. The hardest part of this recipe was remembering to take the dough out of the freezer the night before.

Sticky buns and cinnamon rolls are not the same thing, did you know? I grew up with soft, yeasty cinnamon rolls. Sticky buns are um, really sticky. The caramel bottom, which becomes the top after flipping, is messy and can become too firm if not eaten warm. Sticky buns are also dough-ier and gooey-er (are these words?). This concludes today’s pastry and vocabulary lessons.

I stole this recipeidea from The Barefoot Contessa. The next thing I’m going to steal from her is her easy-going lifestyle in the always perfect, always relaxed Southampton. I want to believe she would serve her breakfast guests sticky buns made from store-bought puff pastry, but I’m slightly more inclined to think she would stay up late the night before to make it from scratch. But, welcome to my life: I work full-time, blog, WRITE and I’m planning a wedding. Store-bought dough is a big part of my life these days.

I used a Texas-sized muffin pan here. I believe they call these ‘giant’ or ‘over-sized’ muffin pans in other states? If you use a regular muffin tin, cut the dough into 6 sticky buns instead of 4.

Sticky Buns (easy!)

makes 4 giant sticky buns

Ingredients

5 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/3 cup + 2 tablespoons light brown sugar (divided use)

3 tablespoons chopped walnuts or pecans

1 sheet puff pastry, defrosted in fridge

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Instructions

First, preheat the oven to 375. Have ready an over-sized or Texas-sized muffin pan*.

In a small bowl, stir together 4 tablespoons of the room temperature butter and 2 tablespoons of the brown sugar. Mix it very well. Divide the mixture evenly and dollop it into the bottom of 4 muffin cups. Sprinkle the nuts evenly on top.

Next, unfold the puff pastry gently. Melt the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter, then brush it evenly on the surface of the dough. Combine the remaining 1/3 cup brown sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle it over the dough. Begin rolling up the dough with the side nearest to you, rolling tightly and gently. Slice the dough into 4 even pieces, then place them in the muffin cups. Press the dough slices down slightly.

Bake for 24-29 minutes, or until the buns are brown and the caramel is bubbling. Let cool for 5 minutes before inverting the pan. Use a knife to help get the buns out if necessary.

Serve immediately. The caramel hardens if allowed to cool too long.

Notes

*You may also use a regular-sized muffin pan, but you will get 6 buns instead of 4.

About me

Christina Lane is the author of 3 cookbooks all about cooking and baking for two. She has scaled down hundreds of recipes into smaller servings so you can enjoy your favorite dishes without the leftovers! Valentine's Day is her favorite holiday.

Per usual, you continue to amaze me. I love this recipe! It’s so simple but still feels homemade. Plus zero leftovers means zero chance to binge later in the day. Awesome!
Also, congrats on the writing gig! Is that new?

You got that from one sheet of puff pastry?! Wow. The stuff over here in Germany must be way smaller than the stuff in the US. Anyway, they look amazing! I love the gooiness. You can never go wrong with gooey.

I’m not sure that I’ve ever tried a sticky bun…but I think I need to change that immediately! Thank goodness your recipes are scaled down – for single girls like me, “eating the whole batch” isn’t such a bad thing. ;) Thank you for another great recipe!

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